bingham



D. W. BINGHAM CAN FILLING APPARATUS March 31, 1964 Filed June 11, 1962\NVENTOR DAVID w. B\NGHAM BY mm m ATTORNEYS March 31, 1964 D. w. BINGHAMCAN FILLING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 11, 1962 \NVENTOR IDAV\D w. BlNGHAM ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofiice 3,127,071 CANFILLING APPARATUS David William Biugham, Brighton, Victoria, Australia,

assignor to l), W. Bingham & Company Proprietary Limited, Victoria,Australia, a corporation of Victoria Filed June 11, 1962, Ser. No.201,687 Claims priority, application Australia June 15, 1961 7 (Ilaims.(Cl. 222380) This invention relates to apparatus for filling cans, jarsand other containers with liquids, pastes or like substances. Theappaartus is of that type which includes one or more lling heads havinga measuring chamber and an associated piston for receiving anddelivering under pressure, predetermined quantities of the liquid orother substance to the cans to be filled.

The invention is particularly applicable to that type of can fillingapparatus described and illustrated in my prior Australian patentspecification No. 231,624 in which each filling head includes relativelyrotatable fixed and movable valve members which are apertured andadapted to control the admission to and delivery from the measuringchamber in the cylinder of the material being fed to the cans. The valvemembers disclosed in the aforesaid earlier Australian patentspecification are particularly suitable for use in connection with thefilling of jams, sauces, pastes and similar materials. Although they arealso capable of being employed for controlling the delivery ofrelatively thin liquids, they are in that event subject to slightleakage and consequently are not entirely satisfactory for handling suchliquids.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide an improvedcan filler of the kind indicated which is capable of efiicientlyhandling a particularly wide range of materials including relativelythin liquids. The improved can filler includes a redesigned assembly offixed and movable valve members which are adapted to reduce thepossibility of leakage developing to an absolute minimum even whenhandling relatively thin liquids.

In order to more clearly describe the present invention reference is nowmade by way of example only, to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a cross-sectional elevation of a filling head and portiononly of a bulk storage vessel of can filling apparatus in accordancewith the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-section on the line 11-11 of FIGURE 1 showing thetransfer port in the fixed valve member in registry with the inlet portin the oscillatable valve member;

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 with the oscillatable valvemember partially rotated so that the outlet port of the oscillatablevalve member and the discharge port of the fixed valve member are inregistry;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-section on the line IV-IV of FIGURE 3 showing inparticular the configuration of the discharge port in the fixed valvemember;

FIGURE 5 is a cross-section on the line V-V of FIG- URE 1 showing aportion of the transfer and discharge ports in the fixed valve member.

The improved can filling apparatus includes a bulk storage vessel 6 forthe liquid or other material which is provided on the exterior of itsside wall 7 with mounting means for a plurality of circumferentiallyspaced filling heads 8 located above any suitable type of conveyor (notshown) for the cans to be filled.

The assembly of filling heads 8 and the bulk storage vessel 6 aremounted in any suitable manner so as to rotate bodily in relation to astationary main supporting frame (not shown) in such a manner that themovements of the vessel and the can conveyor are synchronised so as tooperatively position a can beneath each filling head as it passes overthe conveyor.

3,127,071- Patented Mar. 31., 1964 Each filling head includes an uprightcylinder 9 having a reciprocatory piston 11 therein, the lower endportion of the cylinder forming a measuring chamber 12 for the liquid orother material in the storage vessel. The stroke or" the piston 11 maybe varied so as to deliver different predetermined quantities of saidliquid or other material.

The means employed for reciprocating the piston may consist of alaterally projecting arm 15 carried by the piston so as to extendthrough a longitudinal slot 13 in the cylinder, the outer end of the armcarrying a roller 14 engageable by an inclined cam track. Alternativelya striker or any other suitable means may be employed for reciprocatingthe piston. The operative position of the cam track is preferablyadjustable so as to vary the stroke of each piston as aforesaid.

Coaligned ports 16, 17 are formed in the walls of the storage vessel andeach cylinder preferably near the bottom of the vessel so that itscontents may flow into each cylinder during the upstroke of its piston.

Associated with the foregoing is a control valve assembly for eachfilling head, each assembly consisting of relatively rotatable fixed andoscillatable valve members adapted for detachable connection within thelower end portion of each cylinder.

In accordance with the present invention the fixed valve member 18 is ofsubstantially cup-shaped formation having a base portion 19 and anupstanding annular side Wall 21 adapted for slidable connection Withinthe lower end portion 22 of its cylinder which is counter-bored for thispurpose so that the inner surface 23 of the side wall forms acontinuation of the inner surface 24 of the cylinder and thus enablesthe associated piston 11 to enter the cup-shaped fixed valve member 18near the end of its down-stroke and closely approach the bottom thereof.This is advantageous as it reduces to a minimum the amount of materialremaining in the control valve assembly after each filling operation andthus assists in avoiding undesirable dripping from each filling headwhen a can is not located thereunder.

The fixed valve member is provided with any suitable sealing means andmeans for retaining it in the desired operative position within thebottom of its cylinder. The sealing means may consist of a circulargroove formed around the base portion of the fixed valve member so as toaccommodate an O-ring 26 or the like adapted to bear against a steppedshoulder in the bottom of the cylinder.

The retaining means for the fixed valve member may consist of a radiallocking screw and a locking ring 27 having a flange 23 extendinginwardly beneath the fixed valve member and being adapted to screw ontothe lower end of the related cylinder.

A transfer port 2? and a circumferentially spaced discharge port 31 (seeFIGURE 4) are formed in the base portion 19 of the fixed valve member.The transfer port consists of an open-ended passage one end of which isadapted to register with an admission port 17 in the cylinder wallwhilst the opposite end of the transfer port communicates with saidmeasuring chamber 12 through the upper surface of the base portion 19.It will thus be seen that the open ended passage forming transfer port29 extends downwardly along the annular side wall 21 of the fixed valvemember in the form of a slot 32 and then inwardly across the baseportion 19 and upwardly therethrough.

The discharge port 31 is preferably of circular formation in plan andthe outer end portion of the discharge port is counter-sunk orcounter-bored so as to reduce the effective length of the discharge portto a minimum. Thus the outer end portion or mouth 33 of the dischargeport is preferably inclined outwardly and downwardly whilst the innerend portion 34 of the port may be substantially parallel sided thusshortening the effective length of the discharge port. Where these wallsmerge, the discharge port is defined by a substantially knife edgedcircular lip 36 which thus opposes any tendency of the liquid or othermaterial to remain in the discharge port.

The aforesaid oscillatable valve member 37 is of substantially disc-likeformation in plan and is adapted to form a relatively close rotatablefit within the annular side Wall of the fixed valve member 18. Therotatable valve member 37 may be provided with an axial locating boss 38depending from its lower face and adapted for accommodation within anaxial recess 34 formed in the base portion of the fixed valve member.This recess 39 is preferably of stepped formation so as to accommodatethe lower end portion of a valve spindle 41 which depends through theaforesaid piston 11 and is connected at its lower end to theoscillatable valve member for example by passing through a suitablyshaped hole in the central portion thereof.

The rotatable valve member 37 is also provided with an inlet port 42 anda circumferentially spaced outlet port 43 adapted to register with thetransfer and discharge ports in the fixed valve member respectively. Inthis case the outlet port may be of circular formation in plan but theinlet port is preferably of elongated formation so as to provide anappropriate margin for registry with the trans fer port 29 of the fixedvalve member.

The oscillatable valve member 37 is preferably relativel-y thin andpreferably formed of or coated with hard chrome or like metal so thatwear will be reduced to a minimum. The mating flat faces of the fixedand oscillatable valve members may be lapped or otherwise finished inany suitable manner so as to provide a desirable close maximum surfacecontact between these parts was to avoid leakage.

Yieldable means are provided to urge the oscillatable valve'member 37towards the fixed valve member 18 to maintain close engagement betweenthe valve members. The yieldable means may consist of a spring coiledaround the upper end of valve spindle 41 and held under compressionbetween a pair of opposed shoulders one of which is located on thespindle 41.

Each of the aforesaid valve spindles 41 is preferably provided at itsupper end with one or more laterally projecting arms 44 adapted to beperiodically engaged by strikers (not shown) on the main frame so as toautomatically effect the desired relative movement between the fixed andoscillatable valve member whilst the filling heads 8 and bulk storagevessel 6 are bodily rotating.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the improved valve assemblyis of particularly simple and inexpensive construction and that inaddition it is capable of being readily fitted to and removed from thebottom of its cylinder for cleaning purposes when required.

The valve design enables the associated piston to closely approach thetop of the oscillatable valve member 37 at the bottom of its stroke withthe result that a minimum quantity of liquid or other material remainsin the discharge port after each can has been filled.

By locating the oscillatable valve member within the substantiallycup-shaped fixed valve member 13 so that the transfer port may extendupwardly through the base portion of the fixed valve member, thepossibility of leakage occurring even when relatively thin liquids arebeing handled is either eliminated entirely or at least reduced to aminimum.

Although the improved valve assembly is particularly adapted for use inconnection with a can filling machine of the kind indicated it will beobvious that its use is not limited thereto and that it may be readilyincorporated in other can filling machines. For example it is obviouslyunnecessary for the filling heads to be bodily rotatable as on thecontrary each filling head may be stationary and other mechanismemployed for effecting the desired 4 relative movement between the fixedand oscillatable valve members. Furthermore it is to be understood thatthe apparatus is not limited to filling cans and may be used for fillingother containers.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A can filling apparatus for filling cans with liquid, paste or likematerial comprising a filling head having a cylinder with an uprightaxis and defining a measuring chamber, an associated removable pistonaxially reciprocable within said cylinder, a bulk storage vessel forstoring the liquid, said filling head being capable of periodicallyreceiving in its measuring chamber liquid from said bulk storage vessel,said liquid being subsequently expelled under pressure from saidmeasuring chamber by said piston, said cylinder being open at its lowerend and being provided with a detachable control valve assembly forcontrolling the admission of the liquid to said measuring chamber fromsaid bulk storage vessel and the subsequent discharge thereof, saiddetachable control valve assembly including a fixed valve member ofsubstantially cup-shaped formation having a base portion and anupstanding endless side wall having an internal diameter equal to thatof the bore of said cylinder, means for detachably connecting said fixedvalve member within the lower end of said cylinder to lengthen the borethereof and form a part of said measuring chamber for receiving saidpiston, a transfer port comunicating at one end through the uppersurface of said base portion with said measuring chamber and the otherend through the base portion to deliver liquid to said measuring chamberfrom the bulk storage vessel, a discharge port extending through saidbase portion between the upper and lower surfaces thereof and throughwhich said liquid is discharged from said measuring chamber, anoscillatable valve member of disc-like form rotatably mounted within thefixed valve member with its lower face and peripheral edge portion inclose slidable engagement with the upper surface of said base portionand the inner surface of the upstanding side wall respectively, an inletand an outlet port in said oscillatable valve member and extendingbetween its upper and lower faces, and means for oscillating saidoscillatable valve member so as to successively register said inletandoutlet ports with said transfer and discharge ports respectively insuch a manner that when the transfer port is open the discharge port isclosed and vice versa.

2. A can filling apparatus according to claim 1 wherein is providedyieldable means urging said oscillatable valve member towards said fixedvalve member to maintain the close engagement between said valvemembers.

3. A can filling apparatus comprising a bulk storage vessel for storingliquid, paste or like material, a filling head having a cylinder with anupright axis and defining a measuring chamber, an associated removablepiston axially reciprocable within said cylinder, said measuring chamberbeing capable of periodically receiving liquid from said bulk storagevessel, which is subsequently discharged under pressure from saidmeasuring chamber by said piston, said cylinder being open at its lowerend and being provided with a detachable control valve assembly forcontrolling the admission of the liquid to said measuring chamber fromsaid bulk storage vessel and the subsequent discharge thereof, saiddetachable control valve assembly including a fixed valve member ofsubstantially cup-shaped formation having a base portion and anupstanding endless side wall, means for detachably connecting saidfiixed valve member within the lower end of said cylinder, a transferport in said fixed valve member and extending between an admission portin the side wall of said cylinder and the upper surface of said baseportion to deliver liquid to the measuring chamber from said bulkstorage vessel, a discharge port extending through said base portionbetween the upper and lower surface thereof and ES through which saidliquid is discharged from said measuring chamber, an oscillatable valvemember of disc-like form rotatably mounted within the fixed valve memberwith its lower face and peripheral edge portion in close slidableengagement with the upper surface of said base portion and the innersurface of the upstanding side wall respectively, yieldable means urgingsaid oscillatable valve member towards said fixed valve member tomaintain the close engagement between said valve members, an inlet andan outlet port in said oscillatable valve mernher and extending betweenits upper and lower faces, the inner surface of said endless side wallforming a continuation of the inner surface of said cylinder so as toenable the piston to extend into the cup-shaped valve member during itsdelivery stroke and closely approach the upper face of said oscillatablevalve member, means for oscillating said oscillatable valve member so asto register successively said inlet and outlet ports with said transferand discharge ports respectively in such a manner that when the transferport is open the discharge port is closed and vice versa.

4. A can filling apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein the endlessside wall of said fixed valve member is of substantially annular form incross section and of such dimensions as to be slidably and sealablyreceivable within the lower end portion of said cylinder, the internaldiameter of which is enlarged for this purpose, said transfer portextending for part of its length crosswise through said base portion andmerging into a slot formed in the exterior of said annular side wall,the lower part of said slot being bounded by the adjacent inner face ofthe cylinder wall and the upper part of the slot merging with theadmission port in the side wall of the cylinder.

5. A can filling apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said dischargeport is of circular formation at its upper end and bounded at its lowerend by a substantially knife edged circular lip which merges upwardlyinto a downwardly diverging mouth and thereby reduces the effectivelength of said discharge port so that in use, any tendency of the liquidto remain in the discharge port or on the knife edged lip is reduced toa minimum.

6. A can filling apparatus according to claim 3 wherein saidoscillatable valve member is in the form of a substantially flat andparallel faced disc provided with an axial locating boss depending fromits lower surface for rotatable engagement within an axial recess formedin said base portion.

7. A can filling apparatus associated with a bulk storage vessel forstoring liquid, paste or like material, comprising a filling head havinga cylinder with an upright axis and defining a measuring chamber, and anassociated removable piston axially reciprocable within said cylin der,said measuring chamber being capable of periodically receiving liquidfrom said bulk storage vessel which is subsequently expelled underpressure from said measuring chamber by said piston, said cylinder beingprovided at its lower end with a detachable control valve assembly forcontrolling the admission of liquid to said measuring chamber from saidbulk storage vessel and the subsequent discharge thereof, said controlvalve assembly including a fixed valve member of substantiallycup-shaped formation having a base portion and an upstanding endlessside wall, said cylinder being open at the lower end, means fordetachably connecting said fixed valve member within the open lower endof said cylinder, a transfer port in said fixed valve member andextending for part of its length crosswise through said base portion andcommunicating at one end with said measuring chamber through the uppersurface of said base portion, the opposite end of said transfer portmerging into a slot formed in the exterior of said endless side wall,the lower part of said slot being bounded by the inner face of thecylinder wall and the upper part of the slot merging with an admissionport in the side wall of the cylinder which is in direct communicationwith the bulk storage vessel, a discharge port extending through saidbase portion between the upper and lower surfaces thereof and which iscircumferentially spaced from said transfer port, an oscillatable valvemember of disc-like formation in plan mounted within the fixed valvemember with its lower face and peripheral edge portion in close slidableengagement with the upper surface of said base portion and the innersurface of the upstanding side wall respectively, yieldable means urgingsaid oscillatable valve member towards said fixed valve member tomaintain the close engagement between said valve members, an inlet andan outlet port in said oscillatable valve member and extending betweenits upper and lower faces, the inner surface of said endless side wallforming a continuation of the inner surface of said cylinder so as toenable the piston to extend into the cupshaped valve member during itsdelivery stroke and closely approach the upper surface of saidoscillatable valve member, an axial locating boss depending from thelower surface of said oscillatable valve member and an axial recess inthe top of said base portion to rotatably engage said axial boss, saiddischarge port being of circular formation at its upper end and boundedat its lower end by a substantially knife edged circular lip whichmerges into a downwardly diverging mouth and thereby reduces theeffective length of said discharge port, and means for oscillating saidoscillatable valve member so as to register successively said inlet andoutlet ports with said transfer and discharge ports respectively in sucha manner that when the transfer port is open the discharge port isclosed and vice versa.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,254,190 Baker June 22, 1918 1,485,222 Ginty Feb. 26, 1924 3,085,594Spragens Apr. 16, 1963

1. A CAN FILLING APPARATUS FOR FILLING CANS WITH LIQUID, PASTE OR LIKEMATERIAL COMPRISING A FILLING HEAD HAVING A CYLINDER WITH AN UPRIGHTAXIS AND DEFINING A MEASURING CHAMBER, AN ASSOCIATED REMOVABLE PISTONAXIALLY RECIPROCABLE WITHIN SAID CYLINDER, A BULK STORAGE VESSEL FORSTORING THE LIQUID, SAID FILLING HEAD BEING CAPABLE OF PERIODICALLYRECEIVING IN ITS MEASURING CHAMBER LIQUID FROM SAID BULK STORAGE VESSEL,SAID LIQUID BEING SUBSEQUENTLY EXPELLED UNDER PRESSURE FROM SAIDMEASURING CHAMBER BY SAID PISTON, SAID CYLINDER BEING OPEN AT ITS LOWEREND AND BEING PROVIDED WITH A DETACHABLE CONTROL VALVE ASSEMBLY FORCONTROLLING THE ADMISSION OF THE LIQUID TO SAID MEASURING CHAMBER FROMSAID BULK STORAGE VESSEL AND THE SUBSEQUENT DISCHARGE THEREOF, SAIDDETACHABLE CONTROL VALVE ASSEMBLY INCLUDING A FIXED VALVE MEMBER OFSUBSTANTIALLY CUP-SHAPED FORMATION HAVING A BASE PORTION AND ANUPSTANDING ENDLESS SIDE WALL HAVING AN INTERNAL DIAMETER EQUAL TO THATOF THE BORE OF SAID CYLINDER, MEANS FOR DETACHABLY CONNECTING SAID FIXEDVALVE MEMBER WITHIN THE LOWER END OF SAID CYLINDER TO LENGTHEN THE BORETHEREOF AND FORM A PART OF SAID MEASURING CHAMBER FOR RECEIVING SAIDPISTON, A TRANSFER PORT COMUNICATING AT ONE END THROUGH THE UPPERSURFACE OF SAID BASE PORTION WITH SAID MEASURING CHAMBER AND THE OTHEREND THROUGH THE BASE PORTION TO DELIVER LIQUID TO SAID MEASURING CHAMBERFROM THE BULK STORAGE VESSEL, A DISCHARGE PORT EXTEND-